Jorma Panula

Who is Jorma Panula?

Jorma Panula is a Finnish conductor, composer, and teacher of conducting.

Panula was the artistic director and chief conductor of the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra from 1963 to 1965, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra from 1965 to 1972 and the Aarhus Symphony from 1973 to 1976. He has also conducted his own opera Jaakko Ilkka at the Finnish National Opera.

Jorma Panula has served as Professor of Conducting at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki from 1973 to 1994 and at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm and the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen.

Panula has had great influence on the world of conducting through teaching. His has been called the "hidden hand" behind the extraordinary succession of fine conductors that came out of Finland. His students include Esa-Pekka Salonen, Mikko Franck, Sakari Oramo, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, and Osmo Vänskä.